IPL 2023: Kohli, Gambhir fined match fees following verbal spat
Things got heated up after Royal Challengers Bangalore defended 126 against Lucknow Super Giants in match number 43 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 season. Virat Kohli and Gautam Gambhir were involved in a heated argument, which also included pacer Naveen-ul-Haq. The spat continued beyond the game as others tried to stop it. Both have been fined 100 percent of their match fees.
IPL fined the people involved in the spat
According to an official statement, Kohli and Gambhir breached the Code of Conduct under a Level 2 offence. Therefore, both of them were fined 100% of their match fees. Naveen, who was also involved in the scuffle, was fined 50% of his match fee for a Level 1 breach of conduct. The entire scene started between Naveen and Kohli when the former was batting.
What happened after the match?
What exactly happened after the game?
The scuffle started during the LSG innings but it ignited when the players were going through the customary handshake. Naveen had a scene there with Kohli, which later snowballed into an argument between him and Gambhir. The duo had to be separated by KL Rahul, Faf du Plessis and others. Gambhir also took away Kyle Mayers, who was seen having a chat with Kohli.
Kohli has had a history with Gambhir
It was back in IPL 2013 when Kohli was the captain of RCB and Gambhir led KKR. The duo had a verbal spat when Kohli was dismissed in the 10th over. Things got heated up and Rajat Bhatia had to separate the two players. Known for his aggressive nature, Kohli has had disagreements with Anil Kumble, Sourav Ganguly, and others in the past.
How did the match pan out?
Kohli and Du Plessis gave RCB another strong start. The duo added 62 runs before RCB suffered a batting collapse. Dinesh Karthik was the only other batter who scored in double figures. LSG restricted RCB to 126/9. In response, LSG lost Mayers in the first over and were tottering on 38/5. An exceptional bowling effort helped RCB defend their joint-lowest IPL total (LSG 108).
